The More Things Change
The Decider is still mulling over his options in Iraq although reports seem to indicate that Baker/Hamilton has no chance of implementation, let alone consideration. He has announced that he wants to increase the size of the armed forces. The streamlined new Army championed by Rumsfeld apparently is not up to the task of securing Iraq, although there is no rumor that he plans to ask General Shineski to come out of retirement and do what he recommended doing in 2002. The irony is that Rumsfeld was right. A small fast army is needed to fight Al Qaeda terrorist cells. Too bad we chose to go to Iraq rather than addressing the forces that are our real enemy.
He seems to be listening to Fred Kagan and Elliot Cohen, of the leading right-wing think tank AEI, who argue that establishing security is the first order of business toward victory in Iraq. Kagan wants 35,000 more troops sent to Iraq and a change in mission from training Iraqis to establishing security. This sounds like the surge option, which was just tried this summer and fall in Baghdad and other than substantially increasing the number of Americans and Iraqis killed seems to have had little affect. How this experience translates into “lets try the same approach again” ought to be explained by the administration in great detail if this is what they choose to do.
The Joint Chiefs are opposed to this increase in troops and Bush is now saying he will “listen” to them but follow his own counsel. For five years he has publicly stated that the Generals on the ground make troop decisions. Somehow I doubt that that statement was true. At best Generals who followed the company line were allowed to make recommendations, which not amazingly supported the administration. When Shineski disagreed, he was removed. Now General Abazaid, one of the few Americans who can speak Arabic and has studied Middle Eastern culture is disagreeing, his retirement is announced. Bush did not listen to advice from the Generals, the State Department, or anyone else with a different view than his or Cheney’s leading up to the Iraq invasion decision. He does not appear to have changed his approach five disastrous years later.
He seems to be listening to Fred Kagan and Elliot Cohen, of the leading right-wing think tank AEI, who argue that establishing security is the first order of business toward victory in Iraq. Kagan wants 35,000 more troops sent to Iraq and a change in mission from training Iraqis to establishing security. This sounds like the surge option, which was just tried this summer and fall in Baghdad and other than substantially increasing the number of Americans and Iraqis killed seems to have had little affect. How this experience translates into “lets try the same approach again” ought to be explained by the administration in great detail if this is what they choose to do.
The Joint Chiefs are opposed to this increase in troops and Bush is now saying he will “listen” to them but follow his own counsel. For five years he has publicly stated that the Generals on the ground make troop decisions. Somehow I doubt that that statement was true. At best Generals who followed the company line were allowed to make recommendations, which not amazingly supported the administration. When Shineski disagreed, he was removed. Now General Abazaid, one of the few Americans who can speak Arabic and has studied Middle Eastern culture is disagreeing, his retirement is announced. Bush did not listen to advice from the Generals, the State Department, or anyone else with a different view than his or Cheney’s leading up to the Iraq invasion decision. He does not appear to have changed his approach five disastrous years later.
posted by John Weiss at 10:47 AM
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